Isolated thoughts

September 6th, 2018

Music, and what it means to me.

I had plenty of time to think about the topic of music.

One is because I'm always alone, and the other is because I am obsessed with music. I myself attend a music academy.

I play the guitar. But that's not really the point of this.

Now first of all my music taste is what you call... um... eccentric(?) or maybe just unusual.

You see, I am obsessed with Blues, and Jazz to a lesser extent. The first time I heard a blues song was when I was around 4.

My dad played a song called "Layla" by Eric Clapton, it was an unplugged version he did for MTV (back when it was actual music and less of the theatrics)

The song was different from what I had heard on the radio, it wasn't just a simple chord being strummed while the singer sang away. Nor was it a grunge band, screaming their problems away. I grew up in the 90's and early 2000's, so the grunge thing was still in full swing.

Anyways, back to "Layla". Eric sang that with such conviction and emotion that I was taken aback. Although I now find the original version of "Layla" he did to be more emotional, the unplugged session he did also features "Tears in Heaven". (Which if you haven't heard yet, I recommend you do. It is quite simply amazing)

So a few years went by and some questionable songs on my iPod later, I was 16 years old. My pop music choices started to sound repetitive, I needed something real.

I dug through my dads music collection and started putting them on my iPod. I would listen to them over and over again. I was hooked.

I started doing some research and across an interview about how Eric was influenced by American blues man. The likes of Albert King, B.B. King, Freddie King, and of course the King of Blues, Robert Johnson.

There was something about the blues, I think Wynton Marsalis summed it up best

"Everything comes out in blues music:
Joy, pain, struggle.
Blues is affirmation with absolute elegance"

My research went deeper, I realised how The Rolling Stones were influenced by the blues, and of course the poster boy himself, Jimi Hendrix.

Their performances was nothing short of spectacular, full of emotion. I wanted to study the art of the blues.

Little did I know you're going to need more than a brilliant teacher. Learning the blues is easy, playing with feel, that is something different altogether. It was an inward thing.

My instructor at the academy said I had to dig deep to play the blues. I was essentially gonna let the guitar vent my frustration for me, and I was just a vessel of emotion.

It drained me, but you know what? I didn't mind, because it's the equivalent of being high. I get why John Mayer does his guitar face now, you're simply too much into the moment to give a fuck.

In summary, the blues is a beautiful thing. Just like Jazz, it appeals to a certain person, and just like Jazz of that certain people only a select few could truly understand.

Also attached is a live performance of "Lenny" by Stevie Ray Vaughn. That is what makes the Blues what it is, it is an emotional roller coaster.